This invention relates to a method and a system for archiving biomedical data generated by a data collection device.
Biomedical data generated by data collection devices that collect data from patients provide an important source of information for medical research. However, collection of data for research is a secondary objective, whereas collection of data for treating the patient has always been a primary concern for physicians. In general, physicians are only interested in a subset of the data generated by a manufacturer-specific, e.g., proprietary, collection device. This subset may include only those data which relate to treatment and diagnosis of the patient. For example, if the collection device is a pacemaker, the pacemaker may be periodically monitored to ensure continued operability.
Although the subset of data may be sufficient for the physician's purposes, it may be desirable to collect additional data which may be of interest to researchers. Many data collection devices are by default, configured to collect a large amount of data that exceeds the data subset used by physicians. The amount of information that collection devices are capable of generating will only increase as technology advances. Currently, this additional information is not being utilized. Moreover, obtaining access to the additional information has not been possible because manufacturers have failed to provide the collection devices with the capability of utilizing the additional data. Often, the additional data is discarded after the data subset is recorded. Other times, the collection devices may save all of the data to a floppy disk, but even then the data is saved using a proprietary data format which only the collection device can recognize and, as stated above, the collection devices have not been provided with the capability of using the additional data.
Accordingly a need exists for techniques which enable the additional data to be put to practical use.